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This cheesy tater tot breakfast casserole is a really easy, one-skillet recipe made with ground breakfast sausage, tater tots, eggs, milk, and cheddar cheese. It’s got all the elements of a hearty breakfast in every bite and comes together in about 10 minutes with 45 minutes of baking.
I’ve always been enamored with hearty breakfast skillet. A good breakfast casserole must have protein, (bacon, sausage, or both), it must contain eggs and cheese, and it needs to have some form of crispy potatoes. Essentially all the breakfast elements you really care about. You’ll be the unsung hero of brunch…I promise.
How to Make Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole
The recipe starts with a layer of browned ground pork breakfast sausage and a layer of frozen tater tots (acting as hash browns). If you can’t find ground breakfast sausage, any ground Italian sausage should work just fine.
The casserole filling is ‘glued’ together by creamy eggs in near-scrambled form. Cook the ground sausage in the skillet, drain excess fat if desired, and lightly pack the sausage down to form a single layer on the bottom of the skillet. The sausage becomes the “crust-like” base and holds everything together.
Tater tots should be frozen when baked. This is to ensure they don’t overcook. The tots should be tightly layered in a single layer with no overlap. A little space in between allows for the egg to fill in the gaps and spread throughout the casserole. You can optionally add precooked bacon on top of the tots if you want extra crunch and bacon flavor. Add the bacon on top of the cheese before adding the egg. The casserole should be baked until the tater tots are golden on top.
Do I Need a Cast Iron Skillet?
This recipe is perfect for a cast iron skillet because you can make everything in a single pan. You can alternately cook the sausage in a pan and transfer it to an oven-safe casserole or deep pie dish if that’s all you have.
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Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole Recipe
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American
Description
A delicious one-skillet brunch recipe made with ground breakfast sausage, golden tater tots, eggs, and melted cheddar cheese. It’s got all the elements of a hearty breakfast in every bite.
Ingredients
- 28-ounce bag of tater tots
- 1 pound ground breakfast sausage (Italian sausage works too)
- 8 eggs
- 1 cup finely shredded mild cheddar cheese (or mozzarella/cheddar combo)
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Green onions for garnish
- Optional 4-5 strips bacon, fully cooked and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a cast-iron skillet, cook sausage until browned and fully cooked through. Use the tip of a spatula to break the sausage into small pieces. Soak up any excess fat with a paper towel by moving the sausage to one side and tilting the pan.
- Use the spatula to gently press down on the sausage, creating a single even layer filling the entire bottom of the skillet.
- Whisk eggs in a medium-sized bowl. Add salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and milk. Whisk and set aside.
- Layer tater tots (on their side) on top of sausage as evenly as possible with no overlap. Fit as many as you comfortably fit with a little bit of space in between. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese (if adding bacon add it now) and then pour the egg mixture evenly over the entire skillet. Bake for 40-45 minutes, uncovered on the middle rack. Tots should be golden brown.
- In the last 5 minutes of baking, top with an additional 1/2 cup of cheese. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with green onions, and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
You don’t have to make this in a cast iron skillet if you dont have one. You can use a similar oven-safe pan or transfer everything to a baking dish for the baking portion.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 544
- Sugar: 1.8g
- Sodium: 1253mg
- Fat: 29.7g
- Saturated Fat: 8.5g
- Carbohydrates: 52.9g
- Fiber: 5.4g
- Protein: 16.6g
- Cholesterol: 181mg
Keywords: sausage hashbrown breakfast casserole, brunch recipes, breakfast casserole recipe
